Category Archives: South Pacific Stitch

March 2016 If you tilt your chair at an angle of 35° and imagine living for [11 of 14] days with your kitchen dining room and bedroom tilted at that angle, and then suppose that it is all being bumped about like an iron-wheeled cart pulled over boulders, you will get a fair idea how […]Read More »

March 2016 It’s the night before our departure for Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile, one of the most remote inhabited islands on earth, and the almost complete absence of anxiety about this passage—which has characterized the past months for me—has evaporated. In the stead of my exuberance is an almost suffocating sense of fear. Are […]Read More »

March 2016 On Isla Isabela in the Galápagos, we saw our first tropical penguins and spent more time than we care to recall tackling repairs. We experienced one of the most memorable excursions of our entire trip at Los Tunneles. There, we snorkeled with dozens of giant Galápagos’ sea turtles, sharks, and cownose eagle rays […]Read More »

March 2016 Having bid adieu to Lori in Puerto Ayora and spent a few days tackling pressing projects aboard, we weighed anchor on a blue sky morning and sailed for Isla Isabela, our final Galápagos port. Our 50-nautical mile passage was smooth; too smooth, in fact. We motored 75% of the time.With the motor on, […]Read More »

February 2016 We didn’t expect to adore the Galápagos’ most touristy island, but we did! We explored the town of Puerto Ayora, walked some of the most incredible stretches of beach we’ve ever seen, marveled at the marine iguanas, trekked through a lava tunnel, saw giant tortoises in action (literally and figuratively) in the wild, […]Read More »

February 2016 Check out the little video we created of our first few days in the Galápagos on Isla San Cristóbal, the archipelago’s easternmost island. We attended the Galápagos’ birthday celebration, snorkeled with sea lion pups, and saw our first giant tortoises at the Galapaguera. Read more about our time on the island HERE.

February & March 2016 Just days after The Red Thread became ours in May 2012, two women wandered past the stern of our boat at Elliott Bay Marina, slip C-62. We shouted hellos and became fast friends with Lori and Kristina, our first friends on the dock. Lori’s sailboat, Summer Salt, was on C-dock, too, […]Read More »

February 2016 Our 0700 departure from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno was erased when 90 minutes out of the harbor Neil recalled that we had failed to retrieve our propane tank. Damn! We’d been motoring to hard-charge our batteries and make water after five days at anchor, so we made a swift about-face. The sea offered a […]Read More »

February 2016 Officially cleared into the Galápagos and with a couple hours to kill before we could return to our freshly fumigated boat, we walked the waterfront in search of a proper watering hole, where we could savor an Ecuadoran beer and enjoy a view of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Together, the three of us had […]Read More »

February 2016 For many cruisers, the decision to go to the Galápagos is not a straightforward one. Although the Encantadas ranks as one of the fabled destinations in the world, it is also one of the more expensive. Many cruisers wrestle with whether paying big dollars will yield an experience worth the price tag. We […]Read More »

February 2016 For as much preparation as went into our passage to the Galápagos, it commenced almost spontaneously. After four days at lovely Isla Parida, we weighed anchor bound for Islas Secas, a triad of tiny islands with a reputation for stunningly clear water and tremendous snorkeling. At a quarter after 10 in the morning, […]Read More »

January & February 2016 Although we were able to upload blogs describing our final weeks in Costa Rica and Panama, WIFI has been limited during the last few months as we crossed the Pacific. This video simply had to wait. We’re excited to *finally* share a few of the highlights [and challenges] of our final […]Read More »

February 2016 It was midnight before we finished stowing foodstuffs purchased during our provisioning binge, and the three of us had hardly closed our eyes when alarms began to ting. Three o’clock had come quickly, and putting coffee to steep was the first order of business. We’d avoided entering Golfito after dark, but having seen […]Read More »

January 2016 The Sarana Guide advises explicitly that Golfito should not entered in the dark. We weren’t interested in pushing our luck and were up before the sun. We departed Bahia Drake at dawn, hoping the light zephyr in the forecast would materialize and enable us to sail. We were also realistic that motoring would […]Read More »

January 2016 The breeze awoke with the colors of sunrise, as we hoisted our sails at dawn on January 24th. I sipped my coffee and wrapped my arms around Neil, overcome with a sense gratitude to be sailing once more after so many months away from our sailing life. It was a balmy morning along […]Read More »